MOSCOW.- The IN ARTIBUS foundation opened an exhibition entitled Under One Sky, which comprises selected works from the collection of its founder Inna Bazhenova. The collection has two focuses of equal weight: One is Western European art spanning a broad time period from the 15th to the 20th century. The other is Russian 20th-century painting.

Under One Sky concentrates on one of several basic principles that have guided Inna Bazhenova’s collection: the interrelationship between Russian and European art at the turn of the 19th century and, in particular, the influence of the French school on the Russian school in the 20th century. The exhibition is not meant to be a literal illustration of this theme, but it is intended to give an idea of how the process of forming a collection can been seen as a means of understanding and examining developments in art.

On view are some 60 works by Russian and European painters, including Honoré Daumier, Georges Seurat, Henri Rousseau, Odilon Redon, Aleksandr Drevin, Konstantin Istomin, Anatoly Zverev, and Vladimir Weisberg. Some of the works have been exhibited in Russia and abroad during the last decade, whereas some are on display for the first time.

One of the highlights of the collection is the small Billiard Players by Honoré Daumier, a work in which the artist skillfully attempts to depict motion. It is also one of the earliest works at the exhibition. Also shown is the plein air study The Hospital and the Lighthouse of Honfleur by Georges Seurat. This work was recently included in an exhibition at the Kröller-Müller Museum in the Netherlands, which mounted the largest exhibition of the artist’s work in recent years. This artist is not included in the collections of any Russian museums, and therefore the exhibition presents a unique opportunity to see his work.

Under One Sky also presents the first chance for Moscow audiences to view the works of the French artist Adolphe Monticelli, a contemporary of the Impressionists and a student of Paul Delaroche. Three works by Maurice Utrillo set the tone for Moscow cityscapes from the 1960s . The exhibition also includes figures representing various figures in Russian “cezannism,” such as Pyotr Konchalovsky, Aleksandr Shevchenko, and Nikolay Sinezubov. Rounding out the presentation of Russian art of the mid 20th century are portraits and landscapes by Aleksandr Drevin, Nadezhda Udaltsova, and Antonina Sofronova, artists largely unfamiliar to the general audience; the coloristic fairytale-like imagery of the early works of Anatoly Zverev; and the flawless compositions of Vladimir Weisberg.